AT Days 78-84

On Sunday, May 12, we left the relative comfort of a hotel to head back into the woods. We had talked to a local shuttle driver, Bubba, whose significant other worked at the hotel, about possibly driving us back to the trail at the Brushy Mountain Outpost and taking our packs onward to Trent’s Grocery so we could slackpack. His fee was moderate and we struck a deal. Looking at the guidebook, it was to be an easy day of hiking and we were able to cover 18.4 miles.

I should have learned by now to always look at the guidebook more carefully so I am not surprised by the features of the trail. Today’s surprise was a lengthy suspension bridge over Kimberling Creek, just before the road crossing that leads to Trent’s Grocery. When we reached the road crossing, I was mildly panicked because Gavin wasn’t there. I saw the trail go on up into the woods on the other side and I was afraid that he had continued up the trail. Thankfully, we both had cell signal so I was able to call him. He said that I should go to the left at the crossing and that he was already in sight of the store, about 0.5 miles down the road. This is a testament to his prowess of navigating the trail and the outright speed at which he as become accustomed to traveling.

Trent’s Grocery was a great trail spot to stop. Essentially, it is an old fashioned country gas/grocery/grill. I believe they have a couple of indoor rooms for rent, but they also allow tenting in a field behind the store. They have a bathhouse and laundry facilities as well. The only downside was, they don’t provide towels, and as a general rule, those are luxury items not carried by many hikers. They do have great food. Gavin had a cheese pizza, which was one of the best we’ve had, and I had a cheeseburger and hotdogs that really hit the spot.

There were several other hikers we’d met before that were tenting at Trent’s. Among them were Gravy Train and Pringles. There was a campfire and we enjoyed standing around and shooting the breeze that evening. One of the things I have enjoyed most about this trip is interacting with other hikers.

The other notable thing about staying at Trent’s was the rain. It started just about the time we got to the field. Quickly, I laid out the footprint for my tent, put the poles in the corners, and threw the rain fly over and staked it all down. In the processes, the footprint got rained on a bit, so I decided to wait until later in the evening to put up the tent body from the inside. Eventually, later on came, and I decided to not bother with putting the tent up inside. Using only the footprint and fly is a way some people save weight when hiking. It is a good plan, but I expect that as summer comes on, I’ll want the tent body to protect me from the bugs.

Monday’s walk was one of the flattest on the trail. Not far down the trail we began to parallel Dismal Creek for several miles. One of the views on the trip today was Dismal Falls, but it was 0.3 miles off the AT so we opted not to take the blue blaze trail. I was confident that we we would see other, more impressive waterfalls on up the trail. It was very peaceful to walk along Dismal Creek for as long as we did. We crossed over it multiple times, and of course, it was great to not have to load our packs heavy with water.

After our really long hike on Sunday, we all agreed that doing a shorter day today was in everyone’s best interest. It was. It was nice to arrive at the shelter in the early afternoon and have the opportunity to rest and relax. Even though we are at a point where we are hoping to ramp up our mileage, if you average the two days together it comes out at 13.2, which is significantly more than we’ve been walking.

We also scored our largest animal sighting to date: three deer off in the distance from our campsite. Bullfrog was walking out the trail to the water source when he saw them. By the time he came back to the shelter to tell the rest of us, they were wise and ready to bolt. I followed him down the trail with my camera on, but most of the footage I got was of the back of Bullfrog’s head and only a few glimpses of their behinds as they ran away.

We slept really well at Wapiti shelter, even though there was a rumor that it was haunted. In 1981, a man from Pearisburg, Randall Smith, befriended two hikers at the shelter. That night while they slept, he shot one, and stabbed the other. Both succumbed from their injuries. He was imprisoned for 15 years, after which time he went back in the woods nearby and tried to kill two fishermen. They both survived the encounter but Smith died from injuries sustained in a car accident while trying to get away. Needless to say, I didn’t relate this story to Hawkeye. I believe the reason we slept so well was that the temperature dropped to the low 40’s. Being in possession of a 25° sleeping bag, I always sleep better when I’m not sweating and sticking to the nylon interior of the bag.

Our hiking day consisted of a nearly 1,300’ climb to get on a ridge line. Once there, we pretty much stayed at the same elevation, with small drops and climbs, until we descended to Doc’s Knob Shelter. One of the great things about walking the ridge line has been the near constant breeze, which is especially refreshing when you’re hiking in warmer temperatures. The downside is, in our experience, ridge walking involves lots of going over and around rocks. It is difficult to describe the difference between good rocks and bad ones. The good ones are reasonably large with flat surface enough that you can put your whole foot down on them. The evil, nasty rocks are the ones that line the trail and stick up with sharp edges and corners. They are often so close together that there is no good place to plant your step, so you just have to endure the jaggedness on the bottom of your foot. Also, rocks that you have to stop and figure out a way to climb up and over are particularly unnerving. Additionally, there are some that are close and tall, so you have to place your foot between the rocks and hope you don’t fall over while your foot and leg are pinned in. This is a great way to get a tib-fib fracture, and I must say that I am definitely not a fan.

Doc’s Knob Shelter was among the nicest that we have stayed in. It was just off the trail, among rocks, go figure, but there was an incredible deck in the front. The deck featured built-in seating with backrests and was much more comfortable than sitting on a picnic table. There were also two tables to cook and eat on, and there was a double Adirondack chair. Additionally, the deck was connected just at the front edge of the shelter so we didn’t have to climb up (or down in the middle of the night) to get to the sleeping platform. Best of all, the temperature was down in the low-40’s, so I slept very well.

When we awoke, we set out for the small town of Pearisburg, VA, 8.3 miles down the trail. By 8:00, we had said our daily prayer and were on trail together with Angel and Bullfrog. Like the day before, the majority of the hike was on a ridge line with small, undulating ups and downs, until we began descending into town about 2.5 miles from the end of the hike. Gavin quickly took off out front, and I was next. The hike was an easy one and he and I arrived at the road crossing well before noon. Angel and Bullfrog took their time and were about 45 minutes behind.

Once regrouped, we began discussing the matter of how we were going to get into town. One option was to road walk about 0.5 miles to a hotel. Angel offered in that she has a Facebook acquaintance that has been following her hike who had volunteered to shuttle us around in town. While we were discussing whether or not to text him, he pulled up at the trailhead. Providence. His name is Justin and he loaded us all into his car and drove us to the Holiday Motor Lodge. I must say that we were forewarned by comments about this hotel on the Guthooks App, but this is the place we chose because it was the only one that boasted WiFi.

We got checked in, showered quickly, and Justin drove us to Blacksburg, VA to have Mexican for lunch. It was great! The only bad part about lunch was that I left my favorite hat and didn’t realize it until hours later. We also visited an outfitter where Bullfrog got new shoes, and I got Gavin a new knife. We also popped into Barnes and Noble so Gavin could get a book. It was really neat driving around in Blacksburg because it is a university town. All along the street were 6-foot tall fiberglass Hokie mascots. I texted a photo of one to my friends Brian and Melody who are both alums, and Brian texted back, “You’re in God’s country. You’ve now reached the highlight of the entire trip!” I’m not sure I completely agree, but the food was great and the trip down and back was quite scenic.

Once back at the hotel, we began settling in. I logged into something posing as WiFi with the hope of uploading some videos. Unfortunately, whatever it was that accepted my password only occasionally loaded a web page. Watching a YouTube video or uploading one was completely out of the question. I also began to notice small features of the room that one rarely finds in a hotel. First, there were quite a few chunks of plaster missing from the ceiling, and you could see where nearly ½” of drywall mud had been placed there to patch a previously wet ceiling. Then there was the matter of the dish of “air freshener” on top of the TV cabinet. It had a sickeningly sweet smell that made me wonder what odor it was there to cover up. The pink tile bathroom with blue floor tiles was a nice touch as well. I realized, only after visiting the Food Lion across the street and getting drinks, that the fridge in the room wasn’t working. The coup de gras, however, was the sign on the ice machine which read, “As per state laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia Dept. of Health, ice produced in this type of machine is strictly for external use only.” That, and the fact that most of the folks staying in this “hotel” were permanent residents, caused me to want to get out as quickly as possible.

We had an “out” plan. Just behind the Food Lion was a small trail that lead 0.2 miles to Angel’s Rest Hostel. We had originally passed this by as an option because we weren’t sure that they allowed adult beverages. Further reading about the place, though, revealed that as long as you don’t get stupid, they’re pretty much good with whatever, except for drugs, and we were good with that. Needless to say, Gavin and I awoke extra early, packed our things, and headed down to the office prepared to have to battle to get our money back for the second night we weren’t staying. Thankfully, there was hardly a discussion, except the clerk asked if there was something wrong with the room. Being the tactful person I am (sometimes), I just explained that the fridge didn’t work and I really needed strong WiFi so I could upload to YouTube. With money put back on my card, Gavin and I hiked over to Angel’s Rest and were able to get a private room for the same cost as the hotel we’d just left.

Angel’s Rest Hostel is without question the best hostel I’ve stayed at along the trail. We were checked in by Nickel, whom we’d met back in the Smokies, and he remembered us. We also met up with some other hikers that we hadn’t seen in a while. One lady we’d met back at The Station at 19E, Not Dead Yet, was there doing work-for-stay while in the process of healing an injury. Our room was the master bedroom of a mobile home. We had free access to the kitchen, the den had a TV with Hulu and DVDs, and we had our own “private” bath, shared with whomever stayed in the other bedroom. Outside there was a bunk house and the nicest shower/bathroom area I’ve encountered. The bathhouse consisted of three individual rooms, each with a shower, sink, and toilet, that were cleaned and cloroxed daily. Best of all, there was WiFi strong enough for me to upload videos to YouTube.

In the afternoon, we went back up to Motel Hell to see Angel and Bullfrog. Her friend Justin was coming to drive us all to dinner with his family in Radford. We went to a tap room called Sharky’s, and it was awesome! Gavin was able to get his new favorite, buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing, and I had a full rack of ribs with a salad and fries. It is difficult to overstate how wonderful it is to get into a real restaurant after eating Knorr pasta sides and spam for dinner for several days in a row.

Originally we had planned to get up on Friday morning and head back to the trail, but Angel and Bullfrog had other plans. She was getting a ride back to Trail Days in Damascus from her friend, and Bullfrog’s uncle was planning to join him on the trail for a few days. The fact that we were separating briefly as a trail family and the rainy weather made it pretty easy to decide to stay for a second night at Angel’s Rest. I had intended to get up and go to the motel to see Angel off, but between the rainy weather and the fact that I was still in bed, I sent her a text message wishing her a good trip instead.

After Angel left, Bullfrog came down to Angel’s Rest to wait on his uncle Ken and his family, who arrived in the late afternoon. We all went together to dinner at a local comfort food restaurant. It was enjoyable to meet and talk with Ken. He had started the AT with Bullfrog, but health issues caused him to get off trail fairly quickly. After seeing his physician and exercising regularly for a couple of months, he was ready to give it another go. I was excited to have someone new to hike with, but we all knew that after a few months on the trail, we’d be walking faster than he’d be able to, so we weren’t sure how long we would be together.

On Saturday, Bullfrog and Ken hit the trail about 8:00, heading for Rice Field Shelter 7.8 miles up the trail. Gavin and I got up and moving slowly, as is usual when leaving town, and didn’t get going until 11:00 or so. Even though the distance to the shelter was fairly short, the bulk of the day was spent climbing almost 1,800’ back to the ridge line. I had a terrifically difficult day of hiking. It seems that I was stopping to breathe and rest every 50 yards or so. It was worse than the early days of our hike when I had no trail legs at all. Gavin, who, according to him, “doesn’t do” uphills, was soon well out in front of me. On the way up, I passed Bullfrog and Ken, who were resting on the side of the trail. I slogged along, slowly, and finally reached the water source, about 0.6 miles shy of the shelter. I stopped to fill my water bladder and was in the process of standing up, folding the top of the bag over, and sliding the clip on, when, the next thing I knew, I was on my butt in the mud. I suppose that I had become so dehydrated that I passed out. Thankfully, when I fell, I missed all the rocks that were in the spring with my head and came out of the event with only a small scratch and bruise. Not long after, several other hikers, including Bullfrog and Ken came along and made sure I was nursed back to health. Bullfrog mixed up an electrolyte solution with Orange Crush drops and I began the process of rehydrating. After a few minutes, I felt fine, and I hiked on to the shelter without incident.

Rice Field Shelter sits atop a ridge just in the treeline of a large, open field. We had excellent views of the town and houses below, and the sunset from the ridge was outstanding. Snow Cream was also at the shelter, and it was good to reconnect with him. We all had enjoyable conversation and rested well.

It was difficult to be without Angel today, but we know that she’s having a good time at Trail Days in Damascus, and that we’ll catch back up with her later on. One thing I’ve learned from the trail that is a good lesson for “real life” is that friends are important and should be treasured. Thanks for joining us for this installment of our travelogue, and remember to just keep taking the Next Step.